John Harless: County doesn’t need a limit on roosters

Re: “Does Stanislaus County need an ordinance to combat cockfighting?” (Page 1B, Feb. 12): Reporter Ken Carlson’s interview with Connie Goesch suggesting an ordinance to regulate the number of roosters a person can have is off base. She stated that it is needed to combat cockfighting. California already has a law in place, 597j, that deals with cockfighting through due process. An ordinance to limit roosters because you think that maybe some of them might be used for cockfighting – meaning all county residents should have their Constitutional rights violated – is, well, unconstitutional.

References to other counties having such ordinances doesn’t tell the whole story. After much fanfare and waste of resources, it is soon learned the cost/benefits of counting chickens doesn’t “pencil out” and the ordinance is only enforced to harass persons with neighbor problems.

Goesch’s worry about property value and unsightly pens isn’t justified. If you’ll take a drive down Grimes Avenue, you’ll see it is a hodge-podge of home types and “landscaping” preferences. I suggest if Goesch can’t live with the diversity of country life perhaps she should move to town. People choose living in the country so they can pursue their unique agricultural proclivities. This requires tolerating others who do the same.

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 12:20 PM with the headline "John Harless: County doesn’t need a limit on roosters."